CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC
STATE UNIVERSITY,
SAN LUIS OBISPO

Fall 2007

Political Science

Alumni Newsletter

College of Liberal Arts

From the Department Chair . . .

Greetings—
The Political Science Department continues to grow and
change at a breakneck pace! The energy and enthusiasm of
our students and faculty are palpable. We have updated the
curriculum, added a new club, funded student internships and
student research assistantships, and hired seven new faculty
members in the past three years. Check out our revamped
website at http://www.cla.calpoly.edu/pols/.
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Mike Latner (Ph.
D. candidate, UC Irvine, 2007), who will teach courses in
American politics, political participation, and electoral politics.
Our new Master of Public Policy program director, Dr.
Elizabeth Lowham (Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder,
2007), specializes in environmental policy and leadership; she
will teach methodology and public policy courses. Dr. Ning
Zhang (Ph.D., UC Santa Barbara, 2007) brings a specialty
in comparative politics and will teach courses in foreign policy
and Asian politics. They join Drs. Arceneaux, Den Hartog,
Den Otter, Leithner, Moore, Long, Settle, Shepherd and I as
full-time faculty. Our lecturers, Drs. Andrews, Evans, Keleher,
and Theobald, will teach in their areas of specialty as well.
We said goodbye to Dr. Reg Gooden and Dr. Carl Lutrin
in the spring, who retired after many years of service to the
Department and to Cal Poly.We miss them greatly.We welcome
back Dr. Richard Kranzdorf, Professor Emeritus, who will teach
an introductory international relations course winter quarter.
In addition to changes in the Department faculty, we have
updated our curriculum. New courses reflect our new faculty
members’ areas of specialization, as well as conversations with
students about their interests and needs. For example, Dr. Matt
Moore, one of our new faculty members who specializes in

political theory and public law, worked with several students last
year to introduce a Mock Trial Club. Mock Trial is a collegiate
program that provides
students with a learn-by­
doing opportunity in law,
allowing them to learn about
and practice researching,
preparing, and arguing a In the future, we would like
case. They then compete to send the Department
in regional and national newsletter as an enewsletter.
competitions.We offer Mock If you would like to receive the
Trial as a course so that letter via email, please send
students can get academic your current email address to
politicalscience@calpoly.edu.
credit for their work.
Mock Trial is just one
of the new courses that we introduced in the past few years.
Other new courses include Political Participation, Politics of
DevelopingAreas,WorldFoodSystems,Politicsof the European
Union, Social Movements and Political Protest, and the list goes
on. We persist in our desire to teach small classes and provide
opportunities for students and faculty to work together both
in and out of the classroom, on faculty research projects, senior
projects, and community projects.
In this issue of our newsletter, you will find entries from
our faculty, club presidents, and members of our Department’s
Alumni Advisory Board. Best wishes from Political Science
faculty, staff, and students.

We need your
email address!

Cordially,
Jean Williams
Associate Professor and Chair

From the Alumni Advisory Board . . .
Steven B. Merrick (POLS 1977)
Co-Chair, Alumni Advisory Board
I graduated from Cal Poly with a BA in Political Science
in 1977. My initial professional goals involved working in
the public sector but through a rather circuitous route, I
found myself instead in the private sector, working first

for an insurance company and then for 3M Corporation.
I received an MBA in 1984 (University of St. Thomas, St.
Paul, Minnesota) and have worked for 3M for over 26 years
in business capacities as well as Six Sigma (quality control),
and most recently leading information technology from one
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of its major business areas—safety, security, and protection
services. I also spent 23 years in the US Army Reserve
including an active duty mobilization for Operation Desert
Storm. I retired from the Army Reserve in 2000.
My Cal Poly liberal arts education has served me well
over the years, and I enjoy the opportunity to give back to
the school by serving on the College of Liberal Arts Dean’s
Advisory Board as well as co-chairing the newly formed
Political Science Alumni Advisory Board. Our goals for this
board are to mentor students, support faculty development
needs, and, in general, assist the Department Chair in other
activities as required to support students, faculty, and the
Department. I have to admit though, that I serve for personal
reasons as well. I derive personal satisfaction from renewed
involvement at Cal Poly and networking with other alumni.
Living in Minnesota, I’m always grateful to have an excuse to
travel to beautiful San Luis Obispo as well as taking walks
down memory lane at Cal Poly.
Austin O’Dell (POLS 1988)
Co-Chair, Alumni Advisory Board
I am fortunate enough to serve on the Political Science
Alumni Advisory Board. The purpose of this board is to assist
political science students to achieve their career goals and to
assist faculty to achieve their academic goals to benefit the
students. As this board develops, I look forward to assisting
Cal Poly’s Political Science Department.
After graduating from Cal Poly in 1988, I continued
my post-graduate education in the Master in Public
Administration program at CSU Hayward. While earning
my Master’s degree, I was fortunate to find an internship
at a public transit agency in the San Francisco Bay Area. I
worked my way up the ranks from an analyst to a transit
manager in a relatively short time. Looking back, I never
would have thought my favorite ride as a boy (the monorail
at Disneyland) would seal my fate for my career.
Professionally, I owe the success in my career to my
degree from Cal Poly’s Political Science Department. My
career requires me to interact with local, state, and federal
public officials (as well as elected leadership), and work with
advanced public, financial, grant writing, legislation, and other
interesting elements. All this just provides a service on the
street. I also serve on the Board of Directors for the California
Transit Association Board and the United Cerebral Palsy. My
message to you is simple: the education from your political
science degree will give you the tools and skills to succeed.
After graduating with my Master’s, I lived in Tracy,
Calif., with my wife, Michele, and our three dogs. In 2000, I
accepted a job for the City of San Luis Obispo as the Transit
Manager. Michele and I now live in Pismo Beach. We enjoy
running, bicycling, outrigger canoeing, and wine tasting. My
favorite band is U2.
Marcia Godwin (POLS 1986)
It’s great to be invited to be part of the Political Science
Alumni Advisory Board. I’ve been a “scholarly practitioner”

2

the last several years, to borrow a label we use in the Doctor
of Public Administration program at the University of La
Verne (ULV).
After graduating from Cal Poly, I was hired by the Public
Works Department at the City of Chino and was promoted
to a senior analyst in the City Manager’s Office about the
time I finished my MPA. I left Chino to complete a Ph.D. in
Political Science at Claremont Graduate University and then
embarked on a nomadic college teaching career: Western
Washington University, Whittier College, and CSU Long
Beach before landing at ULV. I was a full-time visiting
professor in public administration for two years and have
continued teaching part-time the last few years. I’m advising
several dissertations and am currently teaching data analysis.
I was enticed back to Chino as a consultant in 2005
and did my early career in reverse (recycling programs in the
City Manager’s Office and Public Works), but added a stint
in a windowless office in the Police Department developing
emergency preparedness programs. About a year ago, I
was hired as Assistant to the City Manager for the City of
Rancho Cucamonga and led a citywide employee survey
process, helped plan workforce development programs, and
developed Animal Services programs. After trying to juggle
two-plus jobs (city, teaching, and playing piano in a church
band), I’m scaling back to more part-time work. I’m looking
forward to getting back to academic research, meeting more
with students, golfing, and taking coastal walks on vacation in
Oregon—not necessarily in that order!
Brian Kline (POLS 2006)
Since graduating from Cal Poly, I have been a student
at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George
Washington University in Washington, D.C. I am working
on a Master’s in European and Eurasian Studies with a
concentration in International Security Policy. I have enjoyed
varied coursework within my field, including courses on the
political and economic paths of transition from Communism
(one of which I took at Georgetown University), a course on
Central Asia, a course on political Islam, as well as courses
on Mediterranean security and covert action. Through
GWU, I have had an opportunity to hear a number of
speakers on various issues, including the Georgian Ministry
of Education and Science on education reform, a former
Turkmen government official on the possibility of political
reform in Turkmenistan, as well as participating in a Slavic
cultural festival on campus and a gala commemorating the
50th anniversary of the European Union at the German
Embassy. I have also written a number of papers on postSoviet Turkmenistan, as well as on narcotics trafficking in
Central Asia and Europe.
Further, since coming to Washington, I have had
two internships, the first at the National Conference of
State Legislatures (NCSL), and the second at the State
Department. At NCSL, I worked in the International
Programs Department, helping coordinate delegations
of U.S. legislators going to foreign countries, international
delegations coming to the United States, and technical

assistance programs abroad. As such, I was working to further
the goals of good governance and legislative strengthening in a
number of countries, including Russia, the Ukraine, Georgia,
Algeria, South Africa and Saudi Arabia, among many others.
It also allowed me to interact with legislators from both U.S.
states and foreign countries. At the State Department, I am
working on security-related issues in Europe and Russia,
furthering the aims of U.S. foreign policy and national
security.
Tina Duncan-Goodjohn (POLS 1992)
Hi, I am Tina Duncan-Goodjohn, a POLS graduate
from 1992. After graduating, I worked for Wells Fargo as
a Business Banking Officer in San Luis Obispo for a couple
of years. I then transitioned into the pharmaceutical industry
as a sales representative and worked my way up to Senior
National Account Manager. I cover 14 states and travel quite

a bit; my clients are the major managed care organizations. So,
you can see my Political Science degree worked out perfectly;
politics, money, and drugs! Ha! I served on the Cal Poly
Alumni Association Board of Directors for eight years and
really enjoyed going back to SLO for meetings. I encourage
you to stay involved and visit the campus when you can . .
. so many changes! I have lived in San Diego for 11 years
now. My husband and I like to travel a lot. We went to Italy
last October with the Cal Poly Alumni Campus Abroad tour
group. I highly recommend it!
Matt Edling (POLS 2002)
I am an associate with the law firm Cotchett, Pitre
& McCarthy. I married Abby Anderson (Cal Poly 2002
graduate) in 2005. I am a 2007 graduate of UC Hastings
Law School and an avid Red Sox fan. I look forward to their
returning as champions this year—Go Red Sox!!

Faculty Professional Activities . . .
Craig Arceneaux
This will be my sixth year at Cal Poly, and while that is
not necessarily a long time, significant changes have occurred
and many exciting changes are under foot. I think I speak for
our entire faculty when I express my enthusiasm over the
new faculty members who have come on board of late. As
for me, I continue to teach courses in Comparative Politics
and International Relations, and to coordinate the Model
United Nations program. In years past, I have taken our
MUN students to conferences in Los Angeles; Berkeley;
Ottawa, Canada; and Boston, and this year we are planning
a visit to New York to participate in the National Model
United Nations. I have spent much of the past year working
with my colleague Jim Keese in Sociology as we develop a
program in Latin American Studies. We’ve already sent
students on internships to Mexico, Brazil, and Peru; invited
several scholars to our campus to speak on Latin American
issues; and developed a minor for students interested in the
region. Perhaps most prominently, we developed a Peru Study
Abroad program, and shared the experience of teaching Cal
Poly students in Cusco, Peru, for five weeks (at an elevation
of 10,800 feet!). We ate delicious cuy while there, and if you
don’t know what cuy is—well, maybe it’s better that way. I
look forward to more work participating with students inside
and outside of the classroom.
On the research front, this summer I published an article
in Latin American Politics and Society on the efforts of the
Organization of American States to support democracy
in Latin America, and continued my writing for The Other
World, a book co-authored by several of our faculty (past and
present). I am also in the early stages of a textbook project
that will focus on Latin American political institutions.
Chris Den Hartog
My current research deals with congressional procedures
and the ways in which such procedures simultaneously
give some members of Congress opportunities to influence

policy making, and deny other members the opportunity to
influence policy making. I focus especially on the question:
“How does the interaction between political parties and
congressional procedures affect the policy decisions made
by Congress?” Because procedures often fundamentally
empower or disempower some members of Congress, I also
study the ways in which procedures can be (and often are)
reshaped by some members so that the legislative process will
be more likely to produce certain kinds of outcomes. Related
research interests include the presidency, courts, and state
legislatures—and the ways in which interactions among these
institutions (along with Congress) produce policy decisions
and policy outcomes.
My two main current projects center around the role
of the majority party in the contemporary Senate, and the
development of the modern legislative process in the House of
Representatives across the 19th century. I study these topics in
both historical and contemporary periods. A theme running
throughout my work is that under some circumstances
congressional rules limit the ability of the majority party to
pursue its goals, while under other circumstances the majority
party is able to change the rules in ways that allow it to ensure
that Congress adopts the types of policies the party wants. I
have presented recently parts of this research at the Annual
Meetings of the American Political Science Association and
the Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago, and at
the recently held Symposium on Legislatures, sponsored by
the Center for the Study of Law and Politics at the University
of Southern California’s Gould School of Law.
Ron Den Otter
I am about to begin my third year at Cal Poly. Last year, I
taught courses in Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, Jurisprudence,
and Contemporary Political Theory. I continue to advise prelaw students and help those who apply to law school with the
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various aspects of the admissions process: preparing for the
LSAT, writing a good personal statement, securing letters of
recommendation, and so on. I also continue to be the faculty
advisor for the Undergraduate Law Association (ULA),
which is designed to provide its members with information
about law school, the admissions process, and the legal
profession. Last March, we took a field trip to the law school
at UCLA, attended a first-year course, and then had lunch
with the professor. A number of lawyers and one judge spoke
at the bi-weekly meetings, and we ended the academic year
with a law school admissions panel, where admissions officers
from three California law schools spoke about the admissions
process and answered questions.
In April, I was the faculty speaker for the CLA at the
Cohan Center during Parents’ Weekend and was asked to
speak about the expectations that professors have for incoming
students. Although I cannot speak for all faculty members, I
stressed the importance of students taking responsibility for
their education. I suppose that that was my version of “Ask
not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for
your country.” In January, I participated in the Trinity Hall
Lecture Series and gave an informal talk to dorm residents
entitled “How Not to Read the United States Constitution.”
There were about twenty students in the lounge, where the
talks are held, and at first, I was impressed with the size of the
audience. In fact, I could not believe that so many of the dorm
residents were interested enough in constitutional law to take
time out of their busy schedules to listen to what I had to say.
But as it turned out, one of my colleagues had offered extra
credit to any of her students who attended the event.
This summer, for CLA SOAR, I served as a faculty
advisor, which consisted of trying to answer a lot of questions
from incoming freshman political science majors, reducing
their anxieties about college, and advising them about which
courses to take during the fall quarter. At the annual Law
and Society Conference in Berlin, Germany, I gave a paper
entitled “Judging in an Age of Moral Pluralism.” I’m looking
forward to another terrific year at Cal Poly.
Mike Latner
I joined the faculty in 2007 after graduate study at UC
Irvine (Go ’Eaters!). My expertise is in the fields of election
systems and representation, political geography, and urban
politics, particularly in the United States. My published
research has shown the capacity for proportional representation
systems to provide good geographic representation, and I have
also recently conducted research on the properties of majority
rule as a mechanism for facilitating consensual democracy.
My dissertation examines how changing settlement patterns
in the United States impact electoral participation at the local
and national level. Much of my past research can be found in
the online archives of the Center for the Study of Democracy
at UC Irvine.
In the fall of 2007, I began teaching Introduction to
American/California Government and Campaigns and
Elections. In these classes, students gain firsthand experience
in the arts of coordinating policy preferences and legislation



(in the Introduction course), as well as conducting their own
precinct analysis and campaign evaluation (Campaigns and
Elections). In addition, I bring in political professionals to
discuss the dynamics of campaigns with students in an effort
to engage politics as an object of inquiry.
In addition to classroom instruction, I am active in
strengthening the University’s ties to local political life through
guest speaker presentations, coordination with the library
and other public institutions for the provision of electoral
data, and alumni outreach. My goal is to sustain and grow
our departmental role as a source of political information and
enlightenment for the community as a whole.
Finally, my personal ties to the community are growing
stronger daily. Christina, Daven, and I take advantage of
all the wonderful opportunities and natural resources on
the Central Coast. We enjoy the wildlife and swimming at
Morro Bay, ocean fly fishing along numerous coastal inlets,
and biking along coastal and mountain trails. And of course,
there is the wine. In total, we feel that we have picked a great
place to raise our family.
Anika Leithner
Well, the good news is that I not only survived my first
year at Cal Poly, but that I actually had a blast doing it. After
getting a chance to meet a large number of students and to
teach a wide variety of classes, I’m even more convinced that
this is the perfect place for me. Go Mustangs!
On a more professional note, I’ve been working on a
number of projects so far this year. My primary goal is to
integrate the subjects I feel most passionately about into an
interdisciplinary research agenda: psychology, international
relations, and rhetoric. For instance, I’m currently working
on a large project that will analyze German discourse on
historical memory in order to see what kind of impact it
still has on German foreign policy decision-making in cases
of military intervention. Whereas my dissertation looked
at how historical memory is treated in political discourse,
I now want to see how other elements of public discourse
in Germany deal with this issue (i.e. the media, intellectual
discourse, etc.).
This year, I also presented three papers at different
conferences. I co-presented a paper entitled “The
Dispossessed? Foreign Students at American Graduate
Schools” with my good friend Delia Popescu at this year’s
APSA Teaching and Learning Conference in Charlotte,
North Carolina. The paper addressed the many practical
problems foreign students encounter upon entering graduate
programs in the United States.
In July, I presented a paper entitled “Turning Friend to
Foe? The Squandering of America’s Soft Power in Europe”
at the ISPP conference in Portland, Oregon. The paper
addressed the large decline in U.S. favorability ratings across
Europe over the last five years and investigated the role that
the Bush administration’s “exclusive” (i.e. unilateral) foreign
policy rhetoric had in alienating European audiences.
Finally, I presented a paper, “Germany’s New Lessons of
History: The Political Manipulation of Historical Memory

in Germany,” at the IPSA RC21 conference in Antwerp,
Belgium, just this past September. The paper dealt with the
way in which German politicians have begun to reinterpret
the “lessons of history” in order to reconcile Germany’s
troubled past with the demands of 21st century politics.
That’s all from me. Enjoy the rest of your year!
Dianne Long
Hello friends and alumni: The MPP program is in full
swing and we have graduated three cohorts of students. Yipee.
I have been involved in the curriculum, either designing
or teaching courses and it has been a lot of fun. I did visit
London last fall to serve as resident director for Cal Poly’s
study abroad program. It still is an amazing city with exciting
political and cultural life. I wish you the best, and I hope you
will stop in when you are in the neighborhood.
Elizabeth Lowham
I recently arrived at Cal Poly from the University of
Colorado, Boulder, where I finished my dissertation in
political science, with a focus on leadership, collaboration
and environmental policy. My research currently focuses on
how people share leadership in situations where there are
substantial incentives for them to work together. One of my
current projects is publishing my dissertation as a series of
articles.
Originally from Casper, Wyoming, I completed my
undergraduate degree in Geology at Carleton College in
Minnesota. I then headed to graduate school to build my
skills as an interdisciplinary bridge between the worlds of
science and policy. I have kept this basic interest, and I am
currently working on an article and a set of tips for other
political scientists looking to undertake interdisciplinary
research.
I’m currently serving as the Interim Director of our
Master of Public Policy program and have really enjoyed
getting to know the graduate students and my colleagues. So
far, I’m enjoying my time in SLO very much and am pleased
with how things have started.
Matthew J. Moore
The 2007-2008 academic year is my second at Cal Poly.
My primary teaching focus within the Department will
continue to be political theory, though this year I also will
be teaching Mock Trial as a class for the first time. Through
this program, student teams will argue a fictional legal case
against teams from other schools, hopefully bringing fame
and glory to Cal Poly! I have several essays on value pluralism
and politics under consideration at scholarly journals, and
continue to work on publishing my dissertation. This fall I
plan to bring a small group of juniors and seniors to visit UC
Santa Barbara’s Ph.D. program, to give them some firsthand
experience of what graduate school is like, and help them
decide whether an academic career is for them. Finally, my
wife and I welcomed our first child in October.

Allen Settle
We open this academic year with the largest number
of new students (over 4,300) and the campus population is
almost 20,000. We are fortunate to have new faculty join the
Department. Mike Latner, Elizabeth Lowham, and Ning
Zhang all bring much-needed help and expertise in our course
offerings. We hope to recruit three additional professors for
the fall 2008 classes. We also are fortunate to have Suzy Black
in the front office because we know she really runs the show
and saves us much time in helping direct students and even
faculty.
I look forward to the 2007-2008 election year because
of the vast amount of political material available to cover.
Consider, three elections in 2008, the U. S. Supreme Court
under John Roberts, local county and city elections (my term
on the city council is not up in the upcoming election), the
fate of the dollar in the new world economy, the housing
finance battle, and endless foreign policy issues.
I hope all our students get high-paying jobs to help pay
the national debt now over nine trillion dollars. The job
market for our graduates is of particular interest especially
when Ralph A. Wolff, director of the Western Association of
Schools & Colleges, noted in the opening faculty conference
that the average worker will have between 10 and 14 different
jobs by the time they are 38 years old, 63 percent of the
workforce lack needed skills, and 85 percent of jobs now
require post-graduate education or training. We do live in
interesting times.
Linda Shepherd On sabbatical this year.
Jean Williams (Chair)
It’s been a busy and productive year. I’ve enjoyed chairing
the Department and having the opportunity to work closely
with faculty, students, and alumni. I continue to delight in
teaching courses in American politics, particularly the politics
of race, class, and gender and social movements. In addition
to teaching and chairing the Department, I just put the final
touches on my book analyzing sex education policy, co­
authored with Alesha Doan. Some of you who worked with us
as research assistants will recall the beginnings of this project
in 2002. We’re very excited to see the culmination of many
long hours conducting interviews and writing: The Politics
of Virginity: Abstinence in Sex Education will be published by
Praeger in 2008.
I also recently completed a research project on the links
between homelessness and domestic violence. Interviews with
staff and residents of several “Housing First” programs gave
me a fascinating look at one of the most recent approaches
to women’s homelessness. Many of these programs focus
on women’s housing and economic needs, in concert with
addressing domestic violence, and are showing some
interesting preliminary results. My research will appear in
Homelessness in America, ed. Robert Hartmann McNamara.
I appreciate the assistance of recent graduate Kaitlyn Alaimo,
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who helped me in various ways, including transcribing many
hours of interviews.
I’ve enjoyed hearing from many of you about your lives
since graduation. Please continue to keep in touch.
Ning Zhang
I am a new faculty member in the Department, and
I am really excited about my new job and life in San Luis
Obispo. I was born and grew up in China, and got my BA
in International Relations at Beijing University. For the past
7 years, I have lived in California, and I love the people, the
culture, and the weather (of course). I obtained my Ph.D.
from UC Santa Barbara earlier this year, with a specialization
in Chinese politics, and before coming to Cal Poly, I taught
Chinese Politics and Asian American Politics there.
Right now, I am teaching East Asian Politics and Global
Politics, and will teach Introduction to Comparative Politics
and Comparative Foreign Policy later this academic year. I
have enjoyed every class I have taught this quarter so far. I
have really been encouraged and motivated by the curiosity
and open-mindedness of the students in my classes. I also like
sharing my thoughts and ideas about pedagogical methods
with students, and hearing about their learning needs and
career plans.
My research focuses on political culture and political
empowerment of the society in contemporary China. In my
dissertation, I studied how personal relations serve as a venue
for ordinary citizens in China to bargain with the state in
order to gain political resource and service. I am currently
working on turning the dissertation into a book manuscript.
I hope I will be able to expand the study in such a way that
it will bring out a path of political modernization that is
different from the one undertaken by Western democracies
but is more suitable for the cultural and social conditions of
some developing countries. I love music, reading, hiking and
traveling. I look forward to an exciting career and enjoyable
life here at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
John Culver, Professor Emeritus
After a half-year sojurn in Walla Walla, Washington,
I’m back in Durango, Colorado, and glad to be here. I had
a chance to show off the area to Randal Cruikshanks (who
has been here before) and Earl Huff (first-timer). The locals
are still talking about the 19.5 inch rainbow Earl caught in
the Animas River five minutes away. Alas, they left before
witnessing the black bears foraging behind the house.
I’m as interested as everyone else in the presidential
contest and more than hopeful that the country will benefit
from some enlightened leadership beginning in early ’09.
Then again, it’s discouraging that much of the public simply
disassociates itself from government and politics. I’d like to
discuss this with some of my former students, though not
with those of more contemporary years who are waiting to
see some movie that explains this in two hours.
It’s always fun to read the exploits of our grads and I
hope this finds life—personal and professional—going well
for all.



Richard Kranzdorf, Professor Emeritus
I continue to engage in local environmental politics. I
was the Political Chair of the local Sierra Club chapter before
stepping down in mid-2007. I am doing some teaching at
Hancock Junior College this fall and will be at Cal Poly in
the winter quarter; the classroom is a lure that I find hard to
resist. Other than that, I can be found most days working out
at the Cal Poly Rec Center. My trip to Antarctica remains in
the future.
Carl Lutrin, Professor Emeritus
Life has been good since I left Cal Poly. My wife and I
went on a cruise to Alaska for 10 days where we enjoyed lots
of food and entertainment. Surprisingly, there were a lot of
interesting people on the ship. The cruise company certainly
tries to give you your money’s worth. I don’t think I gained
too much weight! The Denali Forest Reserve is a national
treasure! I highly recommend seeing it, if at all possible. On
a less happy note, I am resting from four and one-half days
at Sierra Vista Hospital! Not fun, and I am glad it is over!
Sam and I are planning to meet our son at the Outer Banks
in North Carolina. And the Mets?—I do not want to talk
about them!

Lecturers
Bud Evans
A new interdisciplinary course, Disaster Resistant
Sustainable Communities, that Bill Simbieda and Ken
Topping in City and Regional Planning, Chris Dicus in
Natural Resources Management, and I developed was taught
with great student interest last winter, and we’re in the schedule
to teach it again this winter. The technology and systems being
developed to predict and mitigate disasters (increasing with
global climate change and urban migration) is impressive.
I continue to work with the Cal Poly Faculty Advisory
Committee on Disaster Management/Homeland Security.
We’re currently building an inventory of education and training
needs from all of California’s County Disaster Management
Offices, which will translate into a series of certificate courses,
a minor, and BA and MA degrees at Cal Poly. We’ve also
submitted a grant application to create an MA program in
Homeland Security by cloning the excellent program offered
at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey.
I’ve been working with the Honors Program to clone
at Cal Poly a course developed at MIT entitled Design
for Developing Countries. Emphasis is on the design of
appropriate technologies for developing regions along with
the needed political and business changes.
I’m serving on the Educational Advisory Panel for
NOW, the weekly PBS news program from New York. Our
emphasis is on creating educational materials that can be
used to integrate NOW reports into high school and college
classroom lessons.
My student program assistants and I organized two
major events last year: a Hunger Dinner presented as a

part of Cal Poly’s International Education Week; and a Hip
Hop event to start the process of establishing a Hip Hop
Congress Chapter at Cal Poly. I previously had no idea of the
political, social, and educational initiatives that are a part of
the international Hip Hop movement. Both events involved
the Cal Poly Chapter of the Student World Assembly, which
I continue to advise.
The eighth edition of The Other World: Issues and Politics
of the Developing World is now in preparation, including my
revised chapter on Political Economy.
Alison Keleher
The new school year finds me continuing work on a
project which studies the Log Cabin Republicans, as well as
a related article on changing attitudes toward homosexuality
with a colleague at the UC Santa Barbara. These new projects
are in addition to my ongoing work studying interest group
campaigning. My research projects made for a busy summer,
but I was fortunate to be invited to attend the semi-annual
California Republican Party convention by the California Log
Cabin Republicans, where I observed party activity by the
Log Cabin group, as well as attend a number of interesting
workshops sponsored by the California GOP. At the
convention I also got to hear Senator John McCain speak at
a luncheon, and attend a “town hall” forum sponsored by his
campaign. For someone who studies campaigns, this was as
good as it gets. Sadly, the senator was the only presidential
candidate who attended the California GOP convention—
surely a fact that speaks to the California GOP’s contention
that the candidates treat California as an“ATM machine,” and
not much more. This fall I will also take a few days to fly to
Washington, D.C, to interview the representatives of the Log
Cabin Republicans and Republican National Committee as
part of my larger project on the Log Cabin Republicans.
This school year has me scheduled to teach a number
of sections of American and California Government—an
opportunity which excites me due to the possibilities for
engaging our students to become active in local and national
politics, and to encourage them to explore their individual
political ideologies. I am fond of quoting Rock the Vote,
the youth voter mobilization organization, who say that
“decisions are made by those who show up.” Empowering
our students to feel comfortable—and excited—enough to
get involved in their community’s and nation’s government is
an important goal of my class.
Nick Theobald
I am currently working on a couple of studies looking
at the effect of race on citizen evaluation of police actions.
One study, with Don Haider-Markel at the University of
Kansas, finds that the race of the police officer affects citizen
perception of legitimacy. The other study, with Don HaiderMarkel and Amber Tierney, a recent graduate of our MPP
program, finds that citizens, regardless of race, are more likely
to feel that police behave improperly when they interact with
black drivers. I also am working on a study on federalism

Our Heartiest
Congratulations to the
Following Political
Science Student Award
Winners:
Matthew Durham
William Randolph Hearst
and California State University Trustees’
Award for Outstanding Achievement (2007)
Phyusin Myint
George and Janice Clucas Scholarship
(2007-2008)
Miguel Ramos
Orfalea Family Foundation Scholarship
(200-200 and 2007-2008)
Leah Roady
Selected as member of the Judicial
Administration Fellows,
part of the Capital Fellows Program,
Center for California Studies (2007)

with Sean Nicholson-Crotty at the University of Missouri
and current MPP student Rob Fitzroy. This paper looks at
how state actors respond to public demand for policies where
there is both state and federal involvement. In addition to
my academic research, I’m working with MPP student Erich
Farag on a survey assessing behaviors of DUI offenders in
San Luis Obispo County. The results of this survey will
be used by the Department of Drug and Alcohol Services
to prevent drunk driving incidences and lower recidivism
rates. Finally, I also renewed my bicycle racing license after
12 years. While I no longer have the time to ride 400 miles
a week, I have found that I can still be competitive on the
bicycle, placing in several races and even surviving several
pro-am races. In addition to satisfying my competitive urges,
I am helping to develop the skills of the Cal Poly Wheelman
as the club’s faculty advisor.

7

Model United Nations

Undergraduate Law Association

Model United Nations is a rewarding experience.
Learning new research techniques, improving public
speaking skills, and working with students from all over the
world to find solutions to world problems are just some of
the benefits.
There is plenty of time for social gatherings and meeting
fellow delegates on a more personal level. Previous conferences
for Cal Poly’s MUN team have included the Far West MUN
in Burlingame, California, the Berkeley MUN, and the
Canadian International MUN. Professor Craig Arceneaux
has been working diligently to prepare for the upcoming
Winter 2007 Conference at Harvard. This will be my third
year participating in the MUN conferences, and I anticipate
this year to be the best yet. Submitted by Noah Kornblith,
Secretary-General of the MUN Club

As faculty advisor to the Undergraduate Law Association
(ULA), I have ambitious plans for this academic year. Last
year, I resurrected the ULA with the intention of informing
undergraduates who might be interested in attending law
school about the law school application process, law school
itself, and the legal profession. I had hoped that we would
have at least ten or fifteen members. In fact, at the outset,
more than forty undergraduates, most of whom were aspiring
law students, joined the club. This year, so far, more than fifty
students have signed up, and we plan to meet every other
week, four times a quarter. Last spring, two local attorneys,
one who practices civil rights law and the other who is an
assistant district attorney, spoke about the kind of law that
they practice and answered questions from the audience. At
one of the other meetings, I spoke about how to prepare for
law school and what to expect during the first year of law
school, including how to read cases and how to prepare for
law school exams. During this year’s first meeting on October
10, I spoke about letters of recommendation, the LSAT,
and personal statements. For our other three meetings this
quarter, I have scheduled two other local attorneys and an
admissions officer from a law school to speak. Ultimately, in
having a wide variety of guest speakers, my goal is to ensure
that Cal Poly students are better informed before they decide
to attend law school; that is, better informed about law school
and the legal profession. As such, I am trying to expose them
to the professional opportunities that exist for people with
law degrees and also to make them aware that there are many
different kinds of lawyers and many different kinds of legal
practices. Submitted by Ron Den Otter

Mock Trial Club
Mock Trial at Cal Poly began last year solely as a club.
Using the case distributed by the American Mock Trial
Association, we were able to send one team to the regional
competition in Los Angeles where we played both the defense
and plaintiff in four separate trials. Mock Trial requires
much dedication, but gives significant rewards in the form of
increased argumentation skills, group cooperation, and new
knowledge of the law. This year, Mock Trial returns as both a
class and a club, and with our extra preparation time and last
year’s experience under our belts, we plan to take the 2008
regional by storm!

Pi Sigma Alpha
Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor
Society, is the only honor society for college students of
political science and government in the United States. Pi
Sigma Alpha is open to any Cal Poly student—regardless
of major—who has completed at least one upper-division
political science class, and achieved a cumulative political
science GPA of 3.0.
Cal Poly’s chapter, Omicron Gamma, will hold meetings
in conjunction with the Political Science Club this year.

8

POLS Alum Chosen for Award
Congratulations to Robert Mayhew (POLS 1982)
who was selected to receive the CLA 2007 Honored
Alumni Award. The Award will be presented at the
Grand Reunion and Honored Alumni Banquet, on
Saturday, November 10, as part of Homecoming.
Robert is co-chair of the CLA Advisory Board,
and is Vice President for DMB Associates, Inc., in
Scottsdale, Arizona.